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Aktion Arbeitsscheu Reich
As part of the „Arbeitsscheu Reich“ (work-shy Reich) in April and in June 1938 in two waves of arrests more than 10.000 men as so-called "black triangle anti-social elements" to concentration camps. During the so-called June-action were also arrested while about 2,500 Jews who had received previous convictions for varied reasons. Terminology The term action, work-shy Reich can be traced back to official correspondence, which was conducted in conjunction with mass arrests. In the Buchenwald concentration camp, detainees were referred to initially as "Reich compulsory labor prisoners", later being referred to as "work shy Reich" (ASR).Wolfgang Ayaß: „Asoziale“ im Nationalsozialismus. Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 1995, ISBN 3-608-91704-7, S. 165. This term was taken up by Hans Buchheim, originally used by Wolfgang Ayass for both arrest waves and became the standard term used. The "work shy" were those who were criminals, had refused to work, or fit other descriptions deemed socially undesirable.Hans-Dieter Schmid: Die Aktion ‚Arbeitsscheu Reich‘ 1938. In: Herbert Diercks (Red.): Ausgegrenzt. ‘Asoziale und Kriminelle‘ im nationalsozialistischen Lagersystem, Bremen 2009, ISBN 978-3-8378-4005-6, S. 33. However, the contemporary term "June Special" for the second wave of arrests and convicted Jews was also used in addition.Z.B. Erlaß Heydrichs an die Kriminalpolizeileitstellen vom 18.6.1940, abgedruckt bei Wolfgang Ayaß, „Gemeinschaftsfremde“. Quellen zur Verfolgung von „Asozialen“, Koblenz 1998, Nr. 102. It was used largely in 1938, however, by no means universally used. “June Special” was used as a connotation more for Jews, while “Work Shy” was used more for general arrests.Das Stichwort fehlt bei Wolfgang Benz u. a. (Hrsg.): Enzyklopädie des Nationalsozialismus. München 1997, ISBN 3-423-33007-4 und Israel Gutman u. a. (Hrsg.): Enzyklopädie des Holocaust.München und Zürich 1995, ISBN 3-492-22700-7.; dort in Bd. IV S. 1679 unter Datum erwähnt als „Asozialen-Aktion“. Action in April 1938 The arrest and deportation of "asocial individuals" goes back to the "basic decree on crime prevention by the police" issued by the Ministry of the Interior on December 14, 1937. The order called for a preventive detention of those deemed professional or habitual criminals, and later was extended to any who might "endanger society with asocial behavior."Wolfgang Ayaß: „Asoziale“ im Nationalsozialismus. Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 1995, ISBN 3-608-91704-7, S. 139. After Heinrich Himmler's plan of January 26, 1938, authorities began a "one-time, comprehensive and surprising seizure" done on the "work-shy". These were men of working age, who had twice refused a job offered to them or given up after a short time. After performing this action, the Gestapo then cooperated with the labor offices in dealing with these men. The implementation of the action was scheduled for March, but was postponed due to the annexation of Austria.Christian Faludi (Hrsg.): Die „Juni-Aktion“ 1938. Eine Dokumentation zur Radikalisierung der Judenverfolgung. Campus, Frankfurt a. M./New York 2013, ISBN 978-3-593-39823-5, S. 34. The arrest operation was far-reaching all over the Reich in the period from April 21 to 30. Overall, there were between 1500 and 2000 male "work-shy" deported to the Buchenwald concentration camp.Stefanie Schüler-Springorum: Masseneinweisungen in Konzentrationslager. Aktion „Arbeitsscheu Reich“, Novemberpogrom, Aktion „Gewitter“. In: Wolfgang Benz (Hrsg.): Der Ort des Terrors. Geschichte der nationalsozialistischen Konzentrationslager. München 2005, ISBN 3-406-52961-5,Bd. 1, S. 158. Actions in May and June 1938 Those detained under the status of "Preventive Criminals" was not limited to the "work-shy", but used in arrests much more broadly. An implementing directive of the Reich Criminal code in April 1938 defined "asocial" as any person who showed continual misconduct or repeated violations of the law, who did not fit into the community and submit to the "self-evident order" the Nazi state desired. These particularly were vagrants, beggars, prostitutes, gypsies and alcoholics. Even people with untreated venereal diseases were included as well.Zitiert nach Wolfgang Ayaß: „Asoziale“ im Nationalsozialismus. Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 1995, ISBN 3-608-91704-7, S. 147/148. On Hitler's personal orders Jews were included in the order.Stefanie Schüler-Springorum: Masseneinweisungen in Konzentrationslager.... In: Wolfgang Benz (Hrsg.): Der Ort des Terrors... München 2005, ISBN 3-406-52961-5,Bd. 1, S. 159. Wolf Gruner quotes the statement made by Hitler in the last week of May 1938 in the following notation: "the completion of major earthworks throughout the Reich” would be completed by “anti-social and criminal Jews to be arrested."Wolf Gruner: Zwangsarbeit und Verfolgung - Österreichische Juden im NS-Staat 1938-1945, Innsbruck u.a. 2000, ISBN 3-7065-1396-X, S. 33. When the order was passed orally, it was misunderstood, because the meaning of "anti-social" changed depending on the usage of uppercase or lowercase. In fact, the state police headquarters in Vienna took "flash" initiative and ordered that the district police stations on May 24, 1938 "immediately arrest unpleasant, especially criminally predisposed Jews and to bring them to the Dachau concentration camp." The first two transports of 31 May and June 3, included nearly 1,200 Jews and are referred to by Wolf Gruner as "Austrian Promotions".Zitiert nach Wolf Gruner: Zwangsarbeit und Verfolgung..., Innsbruck u.a. 2000, ISBN 3-7065-1396-X, S. 34. In the June deportations, it was predominantly "anti-social" persons who were arrested. Generally, for the second action, it was mostly Jews living within the Austrian kingdom, whose criminal record included convictions of more than four weeks, who were deemed "anti-social". This next wave of arrests known as the June action led to the arrests of about 9000 men by police from June 13–18.Stefanie Schüler-Springorum: Masseneinweisungen in Konzentrationslager.... In: Wolfgang Benz (Hrsg.): Der Ort des Terrors... München 2005, ISBN 3-406-52961-5,Bd. 1, S. 156 / Genaue Zahl 9497 angegeben bei Hans-Dieter Schmid: Die Aktion ‚Arbeitsscheu Reich‘ 1938. In: Herbert Diercks (Red.): Ausgegrenzt. ‘Asoziale und Kriminelle‘ im nationalsozialistischen Lagersystem, Bremen 2009, ISBN 978-3-8378-4005-6, S. 36. In the "June Special" Jews were disproportionately detained with about 2,300 men in total. Criminal history was often not based on normal delinquency along, but based largely on tracking back several offenses far from the past, including minor infringements such as traffic violations.Die Verfolgung und Ermordung der europäischen Juden durch das nationalsozialistische Deutschland 1933–1945 (Quellensammlung) Band 2: Deutsches Reich 1938 – August 1939 (hrsg. von Susanne Heim), München 2009, ISBN 978-3-486-58523-0, S. 188. 211 Jewish prisoners were admitted to the Dachau concentration camp.Hans-Dieter Schmid: Die Aktion ‚Arbeitsscheu Reich‘ 1938. In: Herbert Diercks (Red.): Ausgegrenzt. ‘Asoziale und Kriminelle‘ im nationalsozialistischen Lagersystem, Bremen 2009, ISBN 978-3-8378-4005-6, S. 37. 1,256 Jewish men were admitted to the Buchenwald concentration camp and 824 to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, where they were subjected to harassment. Classification The focus of security police activity to combat political enemies had shifted to the rejection of "anti-social" behavior, which tended to be socially harmful conduct supposedly due to hereditary predisposition.Ulrich Herbert: Von der Gegnerbekämpfung zur „rassischen Generalprävention“. In: Ulrich Herbert u. a. (Hrsg.): Die nationalsozialistischen Konzentrationslager.''Frankfurt/M. 2002, ISBN 3-596-15516-9, Bd. 1, S. 81. Heydrich justified the action in a quick letter to the criminal police control centers, stating anti-social behaviour would not be tolerated beyond the ability to work, so as to have no set backs to the Four Year infrastructure plan.Dokument VEJ 2/39 = Die Verfolgung und Ermordung der europäischen Juden durch das nationalsozialistische Deutschland 1933-1945 (Quellensammlung) Band 2: Deutsches Reich 1938 – August 1939 (hrsg. von Susanne Heim), München 2009, ISBN 978-3-486-58523-0, S. 160f.zitiert nach Wolfgang Ayaß: ''„Asoziale“ im Nationalsozialismus. Stuttgart 1995, ISBN 3-608-91704-7, S. 149. Wolfgang Ayass suggests that workers were often not chosen based on the alleged dangerousness of the individual or his "asocial" behaviour, but his work ability was often the decisive arrest criterion. In many concentration camps, these men were marked with a black inmate insignia and formed group of "asocial" workers until the outbreak of the larger war. Martin Broszat noted that at this time the SS began increasing material production for its armaments and buildings and in concentration camps, larger prisoner quotas were needed.Martin Broszat: Nationalsozialistische Konzentrationslager 1933-1945. In: Anatomie des SS-Staates. München 1967, Bd. 2, S. 77. The "Work-shy" workers were often used as a deterrent to other "slackers" in the labour force, since they often had more difficult tasks.Wolfgang Ayaß: „Asoziale“ im Nationalsozialismus. Stuttgart 1995, ISBN 3-608-91704-7, S. 164. The "June Special" was also the first carried out by the security police on their own discetion, in which a large number of German Jews were deported to concentration camps.Christian Dierks: Die ‚Juni-Aktion‘ 1938 in Berlin. In: Beate Meyer, Hermann Simon: Juden in Berlin 1938 - 1945. (Begleitband zur gleichnamigen Ausstellung in der Stiftung „Neue Synagoge Berlin - Centrum Judaicum“) Berlin 2000, S. 34. Their inclusion in the June action goes back to Hitler's personal orders from June 1, 1938 to have them included.Dokument 33 bei Christian Faludi (Hrsg.): Die „Juni-Aktion“ 1938. Eine Dokumentation zur Radikalisierung der Judenverfolgung. Campus, Frankfurt a. M./New York 2013, ISBN 978-3-593-39823-5, S. 201. Christian Dirks suggests a connection with anti-Semitic attacks in Berlin, which, starting in May, escalated from June 13–16, 1938 with boycotts of Jewish shops, marking shops, raids on cafes and arrests.Christian Dierks: Die ‚Juni-Aktion‘ 1938 in Berlin. In: Beate Meyer, Hermann Simon: Juden in Berlin 1938 - 1945, Berlin 2000, S. 34–41 / Saul Friedländer:Das Dritte Reich und die Juden: Bd. 1., Die Jahre der Verfolgung: 1933–1939, durchgeseh. Sonderausgabe München 2007, ISBN 978-3-406-56681-3, S. 282–284. Christian Faludi noted a connection between Joseph Goebbels and Wolf-Heinrich Graf von Helldorf in staging "anti-Semitic street riots" in Berlin and advancing the goal of a "totally centralized state solution” by the intelligence apparatus of Reinhard Heydrich and Heinrich Himmler.Christian Faludi (Hrsg.): Die „Juni-Aktion“ 1938. Eine Dokumentation zur Radikalisierung der Judenverfolgung. Campus, Frankfurt a. M./New York 2013, ISBN 978-3-593-39823-5, S. 9. Wolfgang Ayass believed numbers in the "work-shy Empire" deteriorated, considering that they were mostly freed in 1939 in the amnesty on occasion of Hitler's fiftieth birthday.Wolfgang Ayaß: „Asoziale“ im Nationalsozialismus. Stuttgart 1995, ISBN 3-608-91704-7, S. 170–172. Comparable mass arrests for these groups were never repeated. However, up to 1945, there were still continuous "asocial" and "work-shy" prisoners sent to concentration camps. Himmler himself estimated in 1943 that the total number of "antisocial" and "professional criminal" detaineses to be around 70,000 people.Wolfgang Ayaß: „Asoziale“ im Nationalsozialismus. Stuttgart 1995, ISBN 3-608-91704-7, S. 172. Julia Hoerath points out that the "general racial prevention" orders were often conflicting between local and central authorities. SS and Gestapo leadership did not immediately establish authority on the issue.Julia Hörath: Terrorinstrument der „Volksgemeinschaft“. KZ-Haft für „Asoziale“ und „Berufsverbrecher“ 1933 bis 1937/38. In: Zeitschrift für Geschichtswissenschaft 60(2012), H. 6., S. 532. Literature *Wolfgang Ayass: "A bid of the national labor discipline". The "action indolence Empire" in 1938, in: Contributions to the National Socialist Health and Social Policy, Vol 6, Berlin 1988, p 43-74.. *Wolfgang Ayass: "asocial" in National Socialism. Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 1995, ISBN 3-608-91704-7. *Wolfgang Ayass: "community aliens". Sources to pursue "asocial" 1933-1945, Koblenz 1998th *Christian Dierks: The June-action 'in Berlin in 1938. In: Beate Meyer, Hermann Simon: Jews in Berlin from 1938 to 1945. (Companion volume to the exhibition at the Foundation "New Synagogue Berlin - Centrum Judaicum"), Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-8257-0168-9. *Jens Kolata: The social disciplining and "racial hygiene". The pursuit of "antisocial", "work-shy", "Swing Youth" and Sinti, in: Ingrid Bauz, Sigrid Brüggemann, Roland Maier (eds.): The Secret State Police in Württemberg and Hohenzollern, Stuttgart 2013, ISBN 3-89657-138- 9, pp 321–337 (not seen) *Stefanie student Springorum: mass detainment in concentration camps. Action "work-shy Empire", November pogrom, action "Storm". In: Wolfgang Benz (Eds.): The place of terror. History of the Nazi concentration camp. Munich 2005, ISBN 3-406-52961-5, vol. 1, pp 156–164. *Christian Faludi (Eds.): The "June Special" 1938 A documentation of the radicalization of the persecution of the Jews. Campus, Frankfurt a. M. / New York, 2013, ISBN 978-3-593-39823-5 References Category:Unfree labor during World War II Category:Nazi Germany